Warehouses, retail spaces, or other venues often employ Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to track various objects located therein. For example, products, packages, vehicles, people, scanners, and robots may all by tagged with an RFID tag. An RFID positioning system located in the venue may then track the location of tagged objects as the objects traverse the venue.
Common RFID standards define several different protocols at which RFID readers may operate. However, as will be described in more detail, some of these protocols are better adapted at tracking objects in environments densely populated with RFID tags; while others are better adapted at tracking objects in environments sparsely populated with RFID tags. In some scenarios, if the RFID positioning system utilizes a protocol adapted for low tag densities in a high tag density environment, the tracking system is unable to detect all of the tags in the environment. Similarly, in other scenarios, if the RFID positioning system utilizes a protocol adapted for high tag densities in a low tag density environment, the tracking data for each object may be captured less frequently causing the position data to be less accurate. Accordingly, there is a need for systems and methods for density-based RFID network configuration.
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The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.